U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke last week called on the University of Montana to cut ties with China, asking them to cancel a law student exchange program set to take place this summer.

“When you go to China… you’re dealing with the Chinese Communist Party,” Zinke said Tuesday, saying he was shocked when he learned of the initiative.

The request came shortly on the heels of the University of Montana Alexander Blewett III School of Law, and its affiliated Max S. Baucus Institute, announcing two study abroad programs, one in Ireland and the other in China. 

There are two proposed China trips. One is designed as a cultural exchange for two weeks and the other is a four-week trip with an emphasis on the environment and climate.

The trips, according to the Baucus Institute website, are to familiarize law students with the “ever-changing nature of the Chinese economy” and the rising superpower’s complex political and legal systems. 

Zinke, alongside two other legislators, including Montana Rep. Matt Rosendale, sent a letter to university President Seth Bodnar on Dec. 4 raising concerns about the trips, which are hosted and funded by the China-United States Exchange Foundation.

“[The China-United States Exchange Foundation] is not a benign entity interested in the objective education of Montanans—it is an organ of the [Chinese Communist Party’s] approach to influence operations, including those intended to shape Americans’ views toward the [Chinese Communist Party]-controlled People’s Republic of China government,” the legislators wrote. 

There are currently no students signed up to attend the trip as of this week, according to the university’s communications department. 

Bodnar sought to alleviate the lawmakers’ concerns, stating that the trips abide by university principles and state and federal law. 

“As a former special forces officer, I understand firsthand the threats to freedom posed by foreign adversaries. This program is in complete compliance with state and federal law. Rather than shrink opportunity, it is our responsibility to expand learning experiences for our students so that America can compete and win around the globe,” Bodnar said in a statement to the Daily Inter Lake. 

The legislators argue that the host organization operates within a broader strategy of “united front work” with the purpose of controlling, mobilizing and making use of individuals outside of the ruling Communist Party to achieve its objectives. 

The foundation is chaired and founded by Tung Chee-hwa, a former vice president of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an organization serving as a “key mechanism for multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership” of the Communist Party, according to its website.

Therefore, the program “clearly aligns with [Chinese Communist Party] interests,” Zinke and other legislators wrote. 

The foundation is not on the federal government’s Consolidated Screening List however, a database maintained by the U.S. that restricts some transactions. 

The China-United States Exchange Foundation is an independent non-governmental organization that hosts high-level dialogue and in-country programs, according to its website. According to Dave Kuntz, the university’s director of strategic communications, the exchange abides by all of the university’s principles and rules. 

“The University of Montana has a unique responsibility to prepare our graduates to compete in a global economy at a world stage,” said Kuntz.  “We have our processes and procedures in place to ensure that we are abiding by all of the laws and regulations … but we are not going to restrict any student. It’s our job to challenge our students and offer every opportunity we can.”

Zinke expressed admiration for Bodnar, saying that he thinks the university is going in the right direction under their leadership. Still, he wanted to raise alarm bells in an effort to protect the university, he said. 

“... As you go through the culture, you know buyer-beware, that there is a reason that they are bringing students over there,” Zinke said. 

When asked what reasons, Zinke’s major concerns included  “science and technology,” citing the theft of intellectual property, the stealing of research and the illegal harvesting of organs. 

Similar concerns have popped up in other academic institutions. In 2018, the University of Texas at Austin rejected money from the foundation after a high-level investigation and an intervention by Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, occurred, according to The Washington Post. 

Cruz said that the funding could allow China to spread propaganda and compromise the university’s credibility, the Post reported. 

Zinke and Rosendale’s letter is the latest call from Montana politicians to curb China’s influence in the U.S. 

Earlier this year, the state Legislature passed a bill to ban TikTok, a social media app owned by ByteDance, a Chinese interest technology company. 

The legislation, slated to go into effect on Jan 1, was blocked at the end of November by U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy. Molloy granted a preliminary injunction saying that the ban oversteps state power, infringes on the constitutional rights of users and likely violates the First Amendment. 

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester has worked throughout the year to curb farmland purchases in the country by foreign adversaries like China, ramping up efforts after a Chinese spy balloon traversed the U.S., entering Montana air-space along the way, in February. 

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines also supports the prevention of land purchases from foreign adversaries, specifically land near U.S. military bases and sensitive sites. 

Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.